Columns/Blogs

An important aspect of using metal in construction is understanding the concepts of expansion and contraction. As metal heats up, it expands; as it cools, it contracts. Insulated metal panels (IMPs) are unique in how they respond to temperature changes because they are composites (steel facings with an insulating foam core).

Insulated metal panels (IMPs) can be installed either vertically or horizontally. With most manufacturers’ wall panels, the exact same panels are used for either orientation. However, there are key differences in how the supporting wall system must be designed to accommodate the panel direction. In addition, the details used to design and the labor used to install vertical vs. horizontal panels can be quite different.

Institutional knowledge is the knowledge of your business and industry contained within your company. It’s not easy for the accountants to measure, but as any good manager knows, it is one of the key assets of all successful businesses.

Every business has key people – the ones that everyone goes to when no one else seems to have any answers. They may be managers, supervisors or maybe even hourly employees. This is where it gets tricky – how do you share and preserve the knowledge and experience “aka the essence” of these unique people for the benefit of the entire business? There are several things every company should do to take full advantage of these resources, and today we will cover one of the most effective ones – mentoring.

If you have been in the construction products industry for any period of time you are likely to have been exposed to a merger/acquisition, or know colleagues who have. Mergers and acquisitions are an important strategy for corporate survival, and are also a result of cyclical economic activity. They are also somewhat akin to shotgun weddings. As someone who has survived four of them in my career (M&A’s, not weddings!), I’d like to share some of the lessons I’ve learned.